Master of Divinity

Provides preparation for the ordained ministry of the church

Academic Requirements

89 semester hours of coursework. Generally, students earn 64 hours their first two years and 25 hours their second two years.

50-53 hours in core courses, including 12 hours in the Bible Division (15 if the student needs to take Greek), 15 hours in the History-Theology-Society Division, and 23 hours in the Ministry Division.

Option courses are distribution requirements that involve choices among several offerings. Six semester hours must be earned in this way in the Bible division, 9 in the History-Theology-Society division, and 6 in the Ministry division.

At least two January Term courses.

Students will take enough elective hours, chosen from offerings in any division, to equal a total of 89 hours.

Language Requirement

Greek is a prerequisite for M.Div. study. Students who do not have the prerequisite may take Greek I for partial credit of 3 hours.

Degree Outcomes

For the sake of the mission of the church, all graduates of the Master of Divinity program at Trinity Lutheran Seminary are able to:

Use appropriately the resources of scripture and the church’s historical and theological tradition.

Proclaim and communicate effectively the gospel in oral and written forms.

Read and interpret critically contexts of mission and ministry.

Provide capable pastoral leadership in both ministry settings and the public realm.

Engage competently and sensitively a diverse and globalized world.

Demonstrate a healthy and resilient faith.

Contextual Requirements

Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at a certified CPE site. CPE programs typically involve 400 hours of clinical experience and may be completed in the summer, usually in the summer between the first and second years.

Leadership in Context (LIC) in the student’s first two years of study. It involves a contextual part of 6-8 hours per week of supervised exposure to, and experience in, pastoral ministry, and a classroom part of 6 seminars per semester (three semesters, 1 hour academic credit per semester).

Internship. In the 2+2 curricular plan, students spend their first two years in a part-time supervised pastoral ministry setting, while continuing to take classes part-time. Students who are seeking ordination in the ELCA must successfully complete internship. Students who are seeking ordination in other church bodies are expected to fulfill contextual education requirements both of Trinity's Master of Divinity and those of the church body under whose auspices they are preparing for ministry. The Director of Contextual Education will work to interpret with the student and his or her church body how all or some of the components of Trinity's 2+2 model fulfill those requirements. In rare instances, an M.Div. student will have already fulfilled the internship requirement prior to coming to Trinity. The 25-hour senior sequence of summer, J-term, online and intensive courses is designed so that it can be completed over a single 12-month period.